Saporta Report cites attorney Bryan Sells regarding when we can hope for an impending decision in Rose v Raffensperger.

It would make sense for a decision in Rose v Raffensperger to come before Thanksgiving, which quickly precedes the start of the special legislative session on November 29. As stated in Saporta Report, this decision will be cited for decades. It will have an impact on voting rights, redistricting and other types of litigation, not only in the 11th Circuit but elsewhere. 

But I go back to the VRA litigation saga from 2011-2016 against at-large FPTP elections in jurisdictions like Fayette County, GA, or to the 100+ court cases since 1982 in Georgia alone which replaced at-large districts with single-winner district elections for city councils, school boards, county commissions and legislative districts. 

I would be very surprised if the 11th Circuit sided with Georgia on the PSC’s at-large election method. But the clock is ticking on the 11th Circuit to make a decision: 

• the special session on congressional and legislative districts starts on 29 November;
• then a regular session to start in January 2024 for 40 days, which is a chance to change statute law regarding PSC elections;
• then a general election to be held in November in which at least another PSC seat (District 5, held by Republican Tricia Pridemore) will be on the ballot (and maybe the two held by Echols and Johnson?), as well as a chance for voters to change Article IV Section 1 of the state constitution regarding the PSC.

On the flip side, the 11th Circuit could rule the case unjusticiable and remove itself from the case. Or they could rule for the plaintiffs but then the state could simply move the PSC to an appointed body instead (like most states). Who knows.

The next few weeks will be interesting to watch.